Flipkart sells 8 lakh phones worth $100 million

Mobile phones are a key category for the Bengaluru-based company and the largest contributor to sales. Over 90% of smartphone sales on Flipkart are exclusive launches.Aditi Shrivastava | ET Bureau | October 04, 2016, 12:21 IST

Analysts had estimated that Flipkart could sell between 5-6 lakh units during the second day of its annual sale this week, based on the brands it had on offer.BENGALURU: India's largest online retailer Flipkart said that it sold eight lakh smartphones on Monday, which translates to a sale value of close to $100 million according to two people directly aware of the transactions, as mobile phones become the focal point in the ongoing battle for leadership in the Indian online retail market.

Rival Amazon India did not specify the exact number of units sold but said consumers bought smartphones on its portal from Lenovo, Moto, Xiaomi, Samsung and OnePlus with sales in first three days comparable to an entire month's sale. Top selling brands on Flipkart included Xiaomi, Motorola and Samsung besides Apple. "Selling more smartphones in just one hour of the sale opening than what the entire retail market in India sells in a day, shows that Flipkart is the default smartphone destination," said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, the head of commerce and advertisement at Flipkart.

Mobile phones are a key category for the Bengaluru-based company and the largest contributor to sales. Over 90% of smartphone sales on Flipkart are exclusive launches. Analysts had estimated that Flipkart could sell between 5-6 lakh units during the second day of its annual sale this week, based on the brands it had on offer. "Brands associated with Amazon India like OnePlus and Coolpad don't have the volume and wider portfolio like the brands associated with Flipkart," said Tarun Pathak, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.

"Since the start of the year, vendors have started pursuing a multi-channel strategy, but some portals are looking to attract brands with exclusive services like marketing support." Delhi-based Snapdeal said it sold nearly one lakh mobile phones in the first 16 hours of its 'Unbox Diwali Sale'.

Flipkart held a 47% market share in 2015, while Snapdeal was at 22.3% and Amazon India at 21.3% in terms of units sold, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research. It narrowed this year as Flipkart had 40% share in April-June quarter, with Amazon India closing in at 32%.

Smartphone sales are significant as along with tablets they accounted for 47% of the gross merchandise value (GMV) during sale days in October 2015, as against a 37% share during normal days, according to consumer internet research firm RedSeer.